Lien Linestrate
Of the most recent generation of the Linestrates, founders of Linestrate University, and a rather wealthy family. Recently became the "official" bearer of the Topaz Bolt, too. An old friend of Lamisle's mother, Ieliza. Has traveled to Peregrine because he thinks he's learned something about her cadvercord, which he feels is relevant to his occupation as an appraiser of peculiar relics and artifacts. In truth it's closer to an overstated hobby, but he's made it work for him, and his family's wealth certainly doesn't hurt the practice much. Statistics * Proficiency: Arcana, History, Insight, Persuasion Appearance Lien's height is somewhat average, with a frame that usually goes unnoticed under a layer of eye-catching and (debatably) fashionable choice of clothes. His face appears young despite his age, with eyes that glimmer a strong golden color as they observe nearly anything put in front of them--within politeness, of course. His bright blonde hair sticks out in untamed swirls from underneath a gray beanie with intricately woven green patterns. His skin can grow pale over long whiles spent indoors, but quickly shifts to a fresh tan color if he spends nearly any time outside. The wardrobe worn by Lien makes an attempt to mix fashion and function with an admitted bias towards the latter. His long-sleeved green jacket is made of an expensive material known for its magically enhanceable durability, and his orange scarf is actually a reinforced weapon that can function as a whip while also hiding a blade for more upfront stabbing. Also on his person is a focus crystal he believes strengthens his spells, though when he's not fighting it looks like little more than a belt ornament. A trick he likes to do when casting at range is fit it into the scarf and wrap it up to make the initial tool into a sort of ornate wand. On his dominant hand sits a ring with a small gem barely noticeable in it. In actuality, the gem is the Topaz Bolt, a legendary item of extreme magical ability. While Lien is able to cast without it, the gem seems to have taken to him, and he sees no overbearing reason to just leave it at home. Personality Having grown up in a notably comfortable environment, it's no stretch to assume Lien to be somewhat spoiled. While over the years he's grown out of particularly detrimental habits incurred by such, he projects an outward aura of nonchalance towards most things, seemingly assuming others can take care of themselves. In reality, Lien is just really bad at making decisions, and will only step in when someone else seems undeniably stuck despite often taking immediate notice to an issue. Even then, deciding what is the "right" thing to do stops Lien dead in his tracks, and the simple question of "why" can catch him extremely off-guard if he's already in the middle of something. Suffice to say, Lien is addicted to thinking things through and having long, organized stacks and lists. While it's not exactly how his brain always operates, he often wants little more than the right thing to be the thing that's happening at any given moment. What that thing is and if others agree on it is where his mind often dives into, though, which is where the vice lies for him. However, when the stars align and he feels correct in a course of action, he'll do his absolute best to take the straightest possible shot to satisfaction. He also has a bit of self-assigned pressure, being the child of a family that runs a prestigious university. He's managed to avoid needing to commit to much of that, but even he knows his time is limited on that front--especially as he ages. Until then, though, he just wants to make sure he doesn't act in a way that'll make people take detrimental notice to his family or their relations. Traits Character Relationships Ieliza Vincons: Lien met Ieliza, Lamisle's mother, through his family connections for an in-depth interview study he was conducting on the history and nature of magical instruments in his early years at the university. She was in town, and the two hit it off surprisingly well due to a shared interest in stories and, to an extent, music. Before the incident that effectively ended her career he was a somewhat frequent face at her performances when he was able to attend. Lamisle: He knew Lamisle when she was a kid, but hasn't seen her recently. If she's anything like her mother she's probably grown up kind and strong, or something. Skills and Abilities Acquired/Learned Abilities * Magic: Lien knows magic! His casting methods generally center around letting the world's influence "flow" through you, not too unlike how many perceive druidic magic. He's taught himself to speed up his casting via his use of focus crystals, something known and accepted by most mages, though his cited reasons for it are... admittedly not backed up with the most evidence. * Relic Studies: Lien studied magical relics and artifacts while attending his family's university. While he's more interested in what he finds in the present, he knows a decent bit about magical items if asked. * Fighting Studies: Amidst his academics, Lien knew if he wanted to search out the relics he was so interested in he wouldn't be able to do it from the comfort of home all the time. Due to such he also trained his fighting skills and can be surprisingly dextrous when wielding a weapon. Esper Arts: Topaz Bolt The Topaz Bolt represents the ability to reason and assert judgement. Besides that, though, it has powerful magics tied to affinity for lightning and electricity. Lien generally sticks to using the magic boost for his own spells, but knows a couple tricks drawn from the gem's power itself. * Lightning!: Exactly what it sounds like, usually accompanied by form of the aforementioned phrase. ** ZAP ** D20 Mechanics: *** 120 feet range *** Ranged spell attack *** 2d10 lightning damage on a hit * Lightning Rod: Latch onto an opponent and give them an electric shock! ** D20 mechanics: *** You can use your melee weapon to perform a grapple (on hit, escape DC 14) *** As a bonus action when you have someone grappled, you can force them to make a CON save against 2d6 lightning damage, taking half on a success *** On a failed save, they additionally cannot take reactions until the start of their next turn * Delayed Judgement: Give an opponent choice over their own fate, but with an admitted bit of bias on the matter... ** Lien attempts to ensnare a target with essence of the Topaz Bolt's influence ** If he succeeds, he can outline a condition for them to follow ** If they disobey, the Topaz Bolt immediately counters with one of a slew of different effects ** D20 mechanics: *** You can use an action to send an ephemeral net to try and affect a target within 30 feet **** They need to be able to hear and understand you *** Outline a directive that fits within one sentence, similar to Suggestion, but worded as a warning *** The target needs to make a CHA save **** DC is 14 for this and all effects noted below *** On a failed save, the target is affected **** The target knows if they are affected or not **** If affected, they get a mental glimpse of the consequence of what will happen if they disobey the warning *** Each time the affected takes any sort of action against the guideline as decided by the GM and as long as there is a straight line between them and the Bolt, they are afflicted by one of the following effects... **** The effect is chosen when the spell is cast, but can be altered via an action **** Altering the effect doesn’t shorten the frame in which this affects the target *** 1: Upon such they take 3d10 lightning damage, applied immediately before the action is taken *** 2: Thick stormy energy smothers their limbs and attempts to stifle their movement. They need to make a STR save or have their movement halved. On a successful save, however, they cannot take any form of the “Dash” action. *** 3: The need to make a CON save or become riveted by shocks and be “poisoned” until the top of their next turn *** The effect ends after 1d4 rounds, but is extended by another 1d4 any time it’s defied *** The effect cannot last over a minute * Sync: Sometimes Lien and the spirit within the Topaz Bolt (known oftentimes as "Ramuh") get on the same page. A lot. ** Gives Lien no cap on his magical ability for 30 seconds and opens nearly every facet of the Topaz Bolt's power, basically turning him into a human lightning nuke. ** On the downside, he has no idea how to activate this, bar something vague about "forging his own justice" or whatever. ** He knows it exists, at least? Skills * Wardweave Jacket: Lien's coat is for more than just looks. Once per day, he can focus his own magical ability through it to give himself a significant defensive boon as a mage armor-like spell wraps itself around him. * Lightning Immunity: Courtesy of the Topaz Bolt. * Topaz Offense: The Topaz Bolt provides a significant offensive boost when facing off against inherently good or evil creatures, for some reason. Lien's running hypothesis is that those creatures fall under the gem's oversight as a sort of "judge." He'd also appreciate it if you didn't ask why he was ordered to shock an angel that one time. ** Inherently good or evil creatures (celestials, fiends) take double damage from Lien's Esper Arts and have disadvantage on saves against them. * Topaz Defense: Due to the Topaz Bolt's influence, Lien can endure sudden shifts in acceleration to extents that would otherwise seriously harm someone. The image of a lightning bolt zig-zagging as it flashes across the sky might come to mind to explain the sensation. ** Resistance to bludgeoning, thunder, and other similar sources of damage. Weaknesses * Needs the Clear Shot: Lien never acts decisively unless it's either a matter of life or death or he believes his actions are indisputably, and I mean indisputably just. He can defend himself just fine, but when it comes to preventing scenarios that would require him to need to defend himself he nearly never makes any headway. If he works too hard without feeling justified he can also fall into a rut rather quickly. * All to Nothing: When Lien does decide to act, he always gives it all, rarely considering the exact amount of effort needed for a specific task before devoting himself 200%. However, his reserves aren't infinite, and if he overdoes something it's easy for him to be left drained. * Fire: For some reason the Topaz Bolt attaches an innate weakness to fire onto poor Lien. Dang. Maybe he should stop wearing so many warm clothes? Equipment Key Items * Topaz Bolt: A small topaz gem possessing the esper spirit of Ramuh, an overseer of choices and bringer of judgement. ** Fitted into a subtly ornate ring on Lien's left hand Weapons * Reinforced Scarfwhip: A sturdy, stylish, and exceedingly utilitarian weapon. ** Can be coiled into a rapier-esque tool, used like a whip with an enhanced slashing tip, or even more! ** The cloth is enchanted to not get dirty, and mends itself in the instance of any break or tear *** Naturally, this is a very expensive item to buy * Focus Crystal: A small, semi-transparent orb used to focus Lien's magic ** Glows mesmerizingly when magic is cast in its vicinity ** Can be fit onto the coiled scarfwhip to use like a wand Other Equipment * Patterned Beanie: ** Doesn't look half-bad * Wardweave Jacket: ** An expensive coat with a built-in warding function * Pants: ** With a belt to attach various things * Shoes: ** Very debatably fashionable * Backpack: ** To hold stuff that does fit on his belt ** Not the roomiest, but it doesn't muddle the look he's going for *** ... wait, he's going for a look? Inventory * Traveller's Supplies: What? You think he was in Peregrine this whole time? ** Mainly rations, water purification things, a cover tarp, and a small bit of artificed tech to keep him warm on the colder outdoor nights. ** Though he didn't use these on the way to Peregrine. He arranged to get driven in. ** He has the tools just in case, though. History Lien was born into the Linestrates and studied magic and fighting from a young age. Those around him growing up admired adventuring and what could be gained from it, and even while Lien was studying in more proper institutions he remained practiced for when he could go out into the world and change it the way he and others he knew so admired. In his mid-20s, Lien pulled some strings with shady sources (in his defense he wasn't able to tell they were shady) to get his hand on a "glass statuette of inexplicable power" or something. He was at the peak of his collector's phase, and the deal was both oddly inexpensive and tantalizing enough to tempt him. Unbeknownst to him, hiding within the statue was the Topaz Bolt. Lien discovered such when a few years later he accidentally broke it open while moving his artifact hoard to a new location. After the incident and a bit of research, the identity of the newfound Esper became exceedingly apparent. However, nobody knew the Bolt was hidden inside before then, so for years it had simply gone undetected. Through his digging Lien also learned more of the individuals that sold him the statue containing the Esper were... not the greatest. Since then he's been living with seething guilt that he even owns the Esper. More recently, however, the Topaz Bolt has called out to Lien and chosen him as its bearer. This was around the time Lien finished his education and started to go on adventurer-like expeditions to satisfy his still-active collector's hobby. Why he was chosen Lien's not entirely sure, as for all he knows he shouldn't even own it. But he's not about to just reject a high-magic artifact! If anything, he wants to learn more about the other bearers through his own status as one. He's come to Peregrine because, looking over some of his relics as well as his own knowledge, there's something peculiar about Ieliza's cadvercord he wants to get a better analysis of...